


The Bully

by mindlikecas



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Bullying, Fluff, Homophobic Language, M/M, No Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-11
Updated: 2016-02-11
Packaged: 2018-05-19 18:21:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,805
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5976658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mindlikecas/pseuds/mindlikecas
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dean, Benny, and Charlie are the best of friends. But then Benny joins the football team and a new kid moves to town and starts getting picked on by the school bully, Chad Alastair. But Dean and Castiel discover that a little love can go a long way to making everything right again.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Three Friends

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Bully](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/175309) by Jennilah. 



> This is my entry for the 2015 SPN Reverse Bang. It's based on an awesome piece of art by Jenna. To see the original artwork, go straight to the end of chapter 2 or check out her [LJ post](http://jennilah.livejournal.com/1239.html). Thank you Jenna for the awesome art! She did a bonus piece which is in the epilogue. 
> 
> Also thank you to [Michele](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kittenbot) and Hank for betaing this. :) You guys are amazing betas. Thank you so much for your help making sure this story made sense. 
> 
> There is some hateful and homophobic bullying in this as well as some bad language, but there is no smut. I wanted to keep this teen friendly since it is about High School. 
> 
> Hope you like it. I'd love to hear what you think in the comments. Your likes and comments mean so much to me!!

"So, who is up for a LARPing adventure next weekend?" Charlie asks enthusiastically. She looks around at the two guys sitting next to her around a table outside of Lawrence High. They’ve been meeting there during their lunch hour every day for a long time now. Charlie Bradbury, Benny Lafitte, and Dean Winchester, now juniors, have been best friends since the start of seventh grade, when they all had homeroom together. Something about the three of them had just clicked and they have been inseparable ever since.

Benny groans. "You keep asking us, but that's not going to actually get us to say yes." Even after three years, Benny has still not given into Charlie's pleas to come LARPing with her. That doesn't stop Charlie from asking every month though.

"You can't blame a girl for trying." Charlie winks at Benny and then turns her attention to Dean. "What about you?"

Dean smiles at her, then glances at Benny and shrugs. "I don't think so."

Charlie rolls her eyes at Dean, knowing full well that Dean will end up going with her. He just doesn't want to admit that to Benny. She replies with a sarcastic, "Right."

Dean smiles at Charlie, silently pleading with her to not push the question any farther.

Charlie is the group's token geek and is always playing some role playing game, either on the computer or in person. She managed to rope Dean into LARPing soon after they met. He found the acting to be an escape from reality for a little while. But, despite Charlie's best efforts, Dean has never taken to the computer games.

Dean is the quiet one of the group. He really doesn't care all that much about the social aspects of high school, except for his small tight-knit group of friends, especially Benny, who he has a particular fondness for.

Benny is the not-quite-athlete of the group. He has been playing football since elementary school, but is far from good at the game. Even so, he keeps trying. This year, he has made it onto their high school's football team, but he isn’t a starter and spends most the time on the bench.

"So, you guys coming to the football game tonight?" Benny asks.

"I don't see why…" Charlie starts, but is interrupted by Dean.

"Of course we are!" Dean exclaims.

Charlie gives Dean a death glare for cutting her off and continues, "I don't see why we have to go to every single one of your games when you don't actually play."

"It's called school spirit and supporting your friends, Charlie," Dean replies for Benny. "You ask Benny to go to all your LARPing events."

"Yeah, but he never actually comes. And in those, I'm the queen. It's a lot more entertaining to watch than football. He'd like it!"

Benny cuts into the conversation, "Can you guys stop talking about me like I'm not here?" He smiles at the group.

Charlie winks at him and begins to stand up and gather her stuff. "Well, lunch is about over. I'll see y'all tonight at the game."

"Oh, so you are coming." Dean smiles teasingly at Charlie.

"Of course I am."

\--------

Later that day, Dean sees Charlie in the hall as he walks out of geometry class. "Charlie!"

Charlie turns and waits for Dean to catch up to her.

"So, what time is LARPing on Saturday?" Dean asks.

Charlie laughs. "I thought you weren't coming." She elbows him in the side. "Or did you just say that because that's what your man-crush said."

Dean glares at her. "Benny is not my man-crush. I just wasn't sure and didn't want to commit and have to back out."

"Right," Charlie says sarcastically. "It's at ten. Want to meet at my house at eight and play dress up before heading out? And bring that brother of yours. He had a blast last time."

"Sure. That works. And I'll ask Sam if he wants to join us."

Last time Dean had gone LARPing with Charlie, his younger brother Sam had asked to come along. Charlie had dressed him up and let him act as a squire for one of the regulars in the game. He just loved it. He wouldn't stop talking about it for two whole weeks and Dean didn't know whether to be annoyed or thrilled that he found something they could do together that his brother enjoyed so much.

"Awesome!" Charlie responds. "See you tonight! And don't worry. I won't tell your man-crush that you decided to go. Your dirty secret is safe with me."

  
Dean glares at Charlie as she turns to head to her English class. In truth, Charlie is right about his feelings for Benny, but there is no way he would ever admit that to anyone, even Charlie. Not that Charlie would care, considering that she is into other girls, but there was just something about admitting his feelings. If he speaks the words out loud, they become fact. As long as they are just in his own head, they could be denied.

He is not ready for that fact to be released to the world. He has a hard enough time admitting it to himself.

Dean has never been one to be open to others about his inner thoughts, especially when it came to his sexuality. He’s just private by nature. The fact that his sexuality is a bit fluid doesn't seem to help with that.

In sixth grade, Dean had developed a crush on a girl named Lisa. He had been attracted to other girls before her, but there had been something special about Lisa. They had been assigned a year long project together in their English class that had involved rewriting Shakespeare's Twelfth Night in a modern setting. Dean had fallen head over heals for this girl.

Dean had never worked up the courage to say anything to Lisa. He had been content to just enjoy working with her and hope that she would show some sign of affection towards him. He didn't want to ruin their friendship by doing something stupid. If there had been any signs that she liked him back, he had been blind to them.

They had agreed to stay friends after the project was over, but since they ran in different circles, they gradually lost touch. Dean had met Charlie and Benny on the first day of school the following year.

Over the next three years, Dean had grown fonder of Benny as a friend. While Charlie was his go-to when he was having a tough time, Benny was the one he really admired.

Benny had grown up in Lafayette, Louisiana and had moved to Lawrence the year Dean had met him. He was athletic and social and a great friend to have around. He had been determined to do well in sports despite not having much natural talent for them. It was Benny's determination that made Dean admire him most.

Dean had initially just tried to be a great friend to Benny, but over the course of the next two years, his feelings for Benny had grown into something more. After a few too many wet dreams about the boy, he had been forced to admit to himself that he had feelings for him.

This realization had hit him out of left field. He liked another boy? Was he gay? Having grown up with a very homophobic father hadn't made him the most open when it came to his own sexuality. But he had finally admitted to himself that he was bisexual (after a strange conversation with Charlie about her sexuality where Dean had seemed a bit too interested).

But he is still not ready to admit his bisexuality to anyone else. For now, it's his little secret. Charlie had caught him looking at Benny one day and had tried to get him to admit he had feelings for his friend, but he had denied it. She didn't believe him and still subtly teases him about it.

\---------

The football game turns out well for them. Their team manages to win by fourteen points. Dean and Charlie spend most of the game talking about their plans for Saturday, but keep an eye on the game in case Benny asks them if they saw something specific later.

After the game ends, they head down to meet up with Benny on the field. He is talking to two of his fellow teammates, Chad Alastair and Fergus Crowley, both of whom are commonly referred to by their last names, even by many of the teachers. Alastair is the star quarterback of the team and thinks he is God's gift to mankind. Crowley is his right hand man and is almost always by his side. The two pretty much rule the social scene at Lawrence High.

Ever since Benny was accepted on the team, Alastair has begun to allow him into his circle of friends. Charlie and Dean tag along with him, much to Alastair's dismay.

¨Oh look, It's Timon and Pumbaa. Benny, why do you still have those two as your shadow? You have real friends now.¨

Benny looks over at Dean and Charlie with a frown on his face. “These are my friends, too, brother. You can’t have too many.”

Crowley replies, ¨Man, it's not about how many friends you have. It's about who you have as friends. Having us as friends is better than having twenty of those two."

Dean clenches his fist. Every time he gets around Alastair and Crowley, he always ends up wanting to punch one or both of them in the face. But Benny seems to really want to be friends with them, so he is afraid that doing so might cause a rift between him and Benny. He bites back the anger and ignores them. ¨Benny, we’re headed to Charlie's house to hang out. You wanna come?"

  
Alastair cuts in before Benny has a chance to answer. "Of course not. He's coming with us for a post-game celebration. Aren't you, Benny?"

Benny just looks from Dean to Alastair and back to Dean. "Yeah. Sorry guys. Studying will have to wait. I'll catch up with you later."

Dean's heart sinks a little at this. They came to this stupid football game just to have Benny dump them afterwards. Great.

Charlie doesn't take this as easily as Dean does. "So you make a big fuss about us coming tonight and then ditch us? Some friend you are! Dean, let's go." She grabs Dean's arm and pulls him towards the parking lot.

Dean looks over his shoulder to see Benny's face fall. He doesn't care if Benny hung out with other people, but he would be really disappointed if that meant he stopped hanging out with them.

\-------

On the drive over to Charlie's house, Charlie rants about Benny's behavior. Dean appeases her with some ‘yeah’s and ‘right’s as she rants.

Suddenly, she stops and exclaims, "Look! People are moving into the Whitman house! That house has been for sale for ages now. Looks like I've got new neighbors!"

Dean smiles at how suddenly her mood changed from rant to excitement and looks at the moving truck being unloaded. He slows down to allow Charlie a chance to see what's going on. He notices a boy that seemed to be about his age standing off to the side watching the mover's. He has dark hair and is wearing a trench coat. Dean wonders if they might be getting a new classmate.

There is also a woman directing the movers who has hair just as red as Charlie’s. She looks too young to be the mother of the household.

"Cool! Maybe we can make new friends!" Charlie exclaims, still excited. "Can we stop and say hello?"

Dean keeps driving. "They probably wouldn't want neighbors interrupting their movers. Why don't you go over there tomorrow to say hello."

Charlie sighs. "Yeah. You’re probably right. But did you see that girl's hair! I just know we’ll be friends."

Dean smiles at her.


	2. The New Kid

On Monday at school, Dean arrives at his geometry class a few minutes early. He sits down, takes out his textbook and homework, and begins working on the assignment that Mrs. Bradshaw had written on the whiteboard.

He is startled when someone sits down in the seat in front of him, which is normally empty. He looks up to find himself staring into the bluest eyes he has ever seen.

"Oh. Sorry. Mrs. Bradshaw said this was the only open seat," the boy explains.

"Uh. Yeah...it is," Dean stammers, still shocked by the presence of Blue Eyes. He is about to introduce himself when he realizes that the boy has already turned around to face the front of the classroom where Mrs. Bradshaw is starting the lecture.

After a moment, it dawns on him that this must be the guy that he and Charlie saw by the moving truck. Who else would randomly appear two months into the start of the semester?

At the end of class, Dean stops Blue Eyes before he has a chance to leave. "Hi. I just want to introduce myself. I'm Dean."

Blue Eyes pauses for a second before answering. Dean notices the boy's eyes quickly look down his body and then back up to his face. Did he just get checked out by the new kid?

"Hello. My name is Castiel. I'm new here." The boy holds his hand out for Dean to shake.

Dean grins at the formality and shakes his hand. "Nice to meet you, Cas."

Castiel gives him a confused look for a second, presumably at the nickname, then turns to gather up his stuff. "I need to get going to my next class. Bye." And he quickly turns around and walks out the door, leaving Dean to wonder if he had said something wrong.

\-----------

When Dean gets to their lunch table, he finds Benny sitting alone.

"Where's Charlie?" He asks curiously.

Benny looks up at him. "She said something about a hot girl needing her assistance in the library. Not sure what that was about. Looks like it's just us today, brother."

Dean's heart jumps at the thought of them eating lunch together by themselves. "Okay. Awesome. So how ya been lately?"

Before Benny has a chance to answer the question, they hear a shout from behind them.

"Hey, asshole! What do you think you are looking at?"

Dean and Benny look over to see Alastair pinning Castiel against a locker. Castiel's face shows total panic.

Alastair continues yelling at Castiel. "Listen pipsqueak. No one gets to check me out like that unless they got tits. You ain't got no tits."

"What are you? A fag?" Crowley chimes in from behind Alastair.

Castiel's face is in total panic but he manages to push back against Alastair enough to get past him. Dean watches as he runs off down the hall clutching his backpack.

Dean turns back towards Benny. "Poor guy."

Benny scoffs at Dean's words. "Serves him right, trying to check out Alastair."

Dean looks at Benny confused for a moment then continues to eat his lunch, letting the comment slide.

\-----------  
  
The next day, Castiel ignores Dean completely in math class. Dean tries to say hi to him but Castiel just looks the other way. Well, if the guy doesn't want to be social, Dean isn't going to try too hard, no matter how attractive the guy is.

At lunch, Charlie is back and Castiel is nowhere to be seen.

"So, I met my new neighbor last night. She's super sweet. And our hair totally matches. I think we are going to be besties."

Dean frowns at Charlie and replies jokingly, "I thought that was me!"

"Oh honey, you are allowed to have more than one bestie."

Benny scoffs at that and looks at Dean. "Brother, I will never understand girl logic."

Dean smiles and shakes his head. "Me neither."

"Anywho," Charlie continues, "Anna is in college studying Psychology. She looks after her little brother, who is our age."

"Castiel," Dean states.

Charlie nods and replies, "Yeah. I've seen him around a bit. Apparently he got into it with some other boys yesterday."

"Yeah. We saw it happen," Dean says. "Alastair."

Charlie looks at him with surprise. "You did! Why didn't you do anything?"

Benny replies before Dean has a chance to defend himself, "It was over really quickly."

Charlie nods. "Okay. Well, can you two keep an eye on him? I don't want to see him get hurt. He means a lot to Anna."

Dean nods and Benny says, "Sure! Of course we will, sister."

Charlie grins. "Thanks guys! Hey! Do y'all want to go to The Roadhouse tonight?"

Dean nods and looks at Benny, who nods as well. Dean smiles. "Sure. Sounds like a plan."

Charlie returns the smile. "Great. Meet me there at seven."

\---------

As Dean heads towards his theater class after saying bye to Benny and Charlie and stopping by his locker, he hears a commotion from a side hallway as he passes it. He stops and looks down the hallway to see a group of people huddled around something.

Then he hears it. "Cas likes ass! Cas likes ass!" The group of people are shouting in unison.

Dean pushes his way into the crowd to try to see better what is going on. He sees Cas sitting on the floor holding a hand over his right eye. Above him, his locker is covered with "Cas likes Ass!" and "Go to Hell" in black marker.

Alastair is standing over Cas. "Go back where you came from, freak." His fist is raised, as if he is going to hit Castiel again if he moves.

 

 

Crowley, Alastair's shadow, is right next to him. "No one wants fags here."

Then Dean hears a third voice above the crowd and his blood runs cold. "Go to hell, you faggot!"

Benny. Benny, who had promised Charlie he would stand up for Cas, is right in the middle of it. Benny, who Dean has had a crush on for the last two years, is calling someone a faggot.

Dean's eyes bounce back and forth from Castiel to Benny, frozen in shock. He stares at the scene in absolute horror.

He begins to back away from the crowd and ends up bumping into a fair number of people who were still shouting, "Cas likes ass!"

He finally makes it out of the crowd and takes off running to the parking lot. He jumps into his black Impala and shuts the door just as the first tear runs down his face.


	3. LARPing is Fun

Dean ends up skipping his last two classes. He dreads going to the Roadhouse that night and thinks about calling Charlie when she gets out of class and bailing. But in the end, he realizes he can't hide forever. Benny has been his best friend for the last three years. He's going to have to face him at some point.

As he walks into the Roadhouse, he spots Charlie and Benny sitting in their regular booth. Benny notices him as he walks up.

"Hey, brother!" He greets Dean with a smile. Benny slaps him on his back but Dean can't help but flinch away from him.

He realizes that he no longer trusts Benny even though Benny never did anything specifically to hurt him. Benny looks at him puzzled for a moment, but ignores the flinch.

Charlie doesn't seem like she has noticed anything. "Dean! We were just discussing Croc shoes. We need your opinion!"

Dean sits down next to Charlie. "That's not something I ever thought to have an opinion about."

"Well, I'm now giving you the chance," Charlie replies.

The conversation continues, and for a while, things seem normal between the three of them. Then Charlie brings up her new friendship with her neighbor Anna.

"I really can't wait for you to meet Anna. She is so sweet and loving! I think we'll make great friends!"

Benny replies, "Great! I'm looking forward to meeting her! A friend of yours is a friend of mine."

Charlie grins and Dean just stares at Benny. Then all the anger he was suppressing breaks out.

"What?! How can you say that! You want to meet the older sister of the boy you helped torment today! You asshole! You sit here talking to your lesbian best friend, yet you didn't seem to like gays today when you were calling Cas a fag!"

Dean stands up and gets ready to walk out. Charlie and Benny stare at him, dumbfounded. Then Dean's word sink into Charlie and she turns to Benny.

"You did what?!" She exclaims.

Benny sinks lower into his chair. "I'm sorry, guys. I didn't mean anything by it. I just got caught up in things."

Dean glares at him. "Bullshit. I don't know what's gotten into you lately, but I'm not gonna be a part of it."

He turns and heads out the door.

Charlie looks at Benny. "I'm ashamed of you." Then she gets up and follows Dean to the door.

"Dean, wait," she yells after him.

Dean pauses and lets her catch up. He can feel more tears forming in his eyes.

Charlie notices the tears and drags him to the Impala. They get in.

"Okay spill. What happened?" Charlie asks. Dean tells Charlie everything he had seen earlier that day and all the feelings he had bouncing around inside of him. He doesn't care that it involves admitting that he had feelings for Benny, which were now soured by Benny's actions.

Charlie was stunned by all that she heard. In the whole three years, they had never seen any mean or homophobic tendencies in Benny. He had always seemed friendly and open.

They agreed, in the end, that they would put a little space between themselves and Benny and see what he does next.

\------------

On Friday, Dean is waiting for the bell to ring letting him out of his theater class, standing at the door with the rest of his classmates. The door is open and they are spilling over into the hall. All the other doors are open and Dean spots Alastair and Crowley across the hall. Even though they are completely ignoring him, Dean gives them a death glare anyway.

All of a sudden, Dean hears a commotion around the corner. Then Castiel comes running around the corner with his hand over his mouth. Everyone in the hallway looks up, including Alastair. Castiel runs full sprint down the hallway and doesn't see Alastair's foot come out in front of him. Cas trips and the contents of his stomach empties on the floor. Alastair steps back. "Eh. Gross!"

Castiel stands back up and Dean sees tears streaming down his face. He runs off down the hall towards bathroom.

Crowley screams after him, "I hope it's deadly!"

Alastair chimes in with a chant, "Go to Hell, Castiel."

Dean just can't take it any longer. Ignoring the fact that the bell hasn't rung yet, he takes off down the hall after Castiel.

He sees Castiel enter the nurse's office. Dean pauses outside the door and takes a deep breath before entering.

As he opens the door, he sees Castiel sitting on one of the beds with tears on his face and the nurse was trying to console him.

"Cas," he says quietly.

Castiel hears him and looks up with a ‘go to hell‘ glare on his face.

"Cas. They have no right to do that to you. Are you alright?"

Castiel's face doesn't change. "What do you care? I saw you in the crowd yesterday. You're not any better than any of them."

Dean sinks into a chair. The nurse looks back and forth between the boys, ready to jump in if needed.

Dean puts his head in his hands. "I wasn't a part of it. I swear! I was shocked. I'm sorry I didn't say anything earlier. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Those guys are asses."

Castiel relaxes a bit but still regards Dean cautiously. He continues to stay silent.

"My best friend…or my ex best friend...was involved. I've never seen him act that way before. Not that it matters, but his words hurt me, too. And for what it's worth, you seem cool to me." He looks at Castiel with a shy smile.

At this, Castiel deflates the rest of the way and looks down. "No one else seems to think so."

"Well screw them! That's what I think and what you should believe!" Dean states emphatically, so emphatically, in fact, that Castiel sits up a bit shocked at the forcefulness of the statement.

Castiel shrugged. "We moved here to get away from problems, and now I have the same problems here. I guess I'm just a beacon for problems."

The nurse pipes up. "I'm going to report this to the principal. He'll take care of it. We don't let bullying happen in this school."

Castiel shakes his head. "It won't help. They’ll find a way."

Dean stands up. "No. No they won't. I won't let them!" He comes over and sits next to Castiel.   
  
"Dean, you can't make this your problem. You seem to be well-liked here. You don't want to get in the middle of this."

"Cas, I just can't sit and let you keep getting picked on. I mean, what happened out there? You got sick in the hallway."

Castiel shrugs again. "I think I had too many cheese fries at lunch. I feel fine now. It was mostly just embarrassing."

The nurse says, "I think so too, but I'll let you call your parents if you'd like to take the rest of the day to take it easy."

Castiel smiled. "Thanks. I think I'll do that. I'll call my sister to come get me."

The nurse looks at Dean. "Thank you for stopping by, but you should get back to class."

Dean nods. "Well Cas, if you need anything, let me know." He pauses for a moment. "You know, Charlie and I are going LARPing tomorrow. You should come with us."

Castiel smiles at Dean. "Thanks. That sounds fun."

"Awesome! We are meeting at Charlie's at eight in the morning. She's your neighbor. Anna knows where she lives."

Castiel nods. "Great. And thank you, again."

Dean returns the smile as he heads off to class.

\-------

The next morning, Sam wakes Dean up extra early to make sure they make it to Charlie's on time. Anna and Castiel are already there when they get there.

Charlie answers the door dressed in a medieval gown. "Well, if it isn't my handmaiden and a squire boy. Come in. What strange clothes you're wearing. Let's find you some better robes."

Then Charlie leads them to her bedroom where Anna and Castiel are trying on costumes from Charlie's extensive collection, Dean nods to Castiel.

"Hey, Cas. Glad you could make it."

Castiel smiles timidly. "Thanks for the invitation."

"No problem, man. The more the merrier." Dean once again is struck by how blue Cas's eyes are. They're like looking into the depths of the ocean. And the rest of him wasn't shabby looking either.

Charlie coughs to alert Dean of the fact that he was staring awkwardly. Dean looks away, embarrassed.

"So Dean," Charlie started, "do you want the same costume as last time?"

Dean nodded. "Yep. Wig and all."

Charlie hands him a hanger with the contents covered by a bag and shoos him into the bathroom to get changed before turning to Sam.

“Now we need to find you something to wear.”

Sam smiles with excitement.

\----------

They make it to the event by ten. Charlie, who is the acting queen in the game, assumes her position on the throne with Dean as her handmaiden. Charlie also makes Castiel a handmaiden so Dean would get to spend the day with him. Sam and Anna go to watch the knights duel with the foam swords.

Later, the rival group kidnaps Charlie, which leads to an epic battle. In the end, everyone has a blast. The event lets them all forget about their everyday lives for a while. Dean particularly enjoys his time with Castiel. Although they were a little awkward with each other at the beginning of the day, by the end of it, they are talking like they have known each other for years.

On the way home, Dean and Charlie decide that they should show Anna and Castiel their favorite ice cream shop.

As they walk in the door, they run right into Benny.

"Hey, y'all," Benny says excitedly. "Are you just getting back from that LARPing thing?"

Dean and Charlie just stare at him, neither knowing how to respond as Castiel comes through the door.

Benny spots Castiel and looks back and forth between him and his friends. Finally he looks down to avoid Castiel's eyes and says, "I have to get home. Hope you had a good time." Then he pushes past Castiel and out the door.

All five people stare after him. Anna is the first to break the silence.

"Who is that? What just happened?" She asks.

Castiel's head drops. "I'm not sure I'm hungry for ice cream anymore."

Charlie turns to Anna. "That's Benny. He was good friends with us until he did some mean things we didn't approve of."

Dean puts a hand on Castiel's shoulder. "Hey, you shouldn't let him ruin the fun. I don't know what his issue is. All of us think you're awesome."

As Anna hears what both of them are saying, she puts the pieces together. "That's one of the asshats who were picking on you, isn't it?"

Castiel nods slowly.

"I'm going to that school on Monday to talk with your principal," Anna states.

Castiel looks terrified. "No. Don't. I'm okay. Really."

Dean turns Castiel gently so he is looking Dean in the eyes. "They won't hurt you anymore. I won't let them. Let Anna talk to the principal. They deserve punishment for what they did to you."

Castiel breaks into a small smile and nods, never taking his eyes off Dean.


	4. Bullying Isn't Just Kids

On Monday, Dean gives Cas a ride to school and they walk to math class together. Dean tries hard not to think about the dreams he had the previous night that featured the other boy. 

Castiel is very attractive and Dean has admitted to himself that he is attracted to him. The feeling surprised him, having so recently only had eyes for Benny. But there is just something about Cas, and they seem to get along really well. 

At lunch, Dean invites Cas to sit with him and Charlie. Benny approaches their table to join them, but when he notices Castiel, he changes direction and goes to sit with Alastair and Crowley instead. 

"Don't let him bother you. He won't mess with you while you’re sitting with us," Charlie says to Castiel. 

"When is Anna stopping by?" Dean asks to distract Cas. 

"She has morning classes today so she'll be up here at some point next period," Castiel responds. 

"Good." 

\-----------

Halfway through Theater, Dean is called to the principal's office. When he gets there, he finds Castiel sitting in the waiting room. 

"Hey, is Anna here?" He asks. 

Castiel nods. "She's talking to the principal."

The office manager asks, "Dean Winchester?" Dean nods. "Good. You may go in."

Anna stands up as Dean enters. "Hey, Dean."

The principal motions to a chair. "Dean, please have a seat."

Both Dean and Anna sit back down.

"Nurse Mills mentioned that you witnessed the incident in the hallway."

"Yes, sir," Dean replies respectfully. He tells them his account of the abuse. 

As he speaks, the principal nods and occasionally writes something on the pad of paper sitting in front of him. Anna listens intensely. When Dean finishes, the principal sighs and looks down at his notes. 

"Thank you, Dean," he says. He pauses and looks at Anna. "So I'm in a bit of an impasse here. I'm going to talk to Chad and Fergus about this behavior but if I do anything to punish them, Chad's father is going to pull his funding from our new creative arts wing. He's financing about 90 percent of it."

Anna looks at him appalled. "So you are saying that a stupid creative arts wing is more important than my brother?"

"It is more complicated than that. The school has already spent some of the money that Mr. Alastair has promised us."

Dean scoffs. "You spent money ya didn't have a final contract for. And now you're being bullied to allow bullying."

The principal looks down, ashamed, and Dean knows that what he said was true. He can't stand it any longer, and he gets up and storms out of the room. The principal just lets him go. 

On the way through the waiting room, Dean looks at Castiel and frowns. 

"I'll make sure they don't hurt you again. I promise." Dean puts his left hand on Castiel's shoulder in reassurance. 

Castiel smiles in reply. "Thank you, Dean."

"So, want to come over and hang out after school? I'll meet you by your last class."

Castiel nods. "Sure. I would love to."

"Great. See ya then," and with that, Dean turns and heads back to class. 

\--------

As soon as the bell rings, Dean rushes to Castiel's last period classroom. Then they walk together to the Impala and head back to Dean's house. 

When they get there, they say hi to Sam, who is studying in the kitchen. 

"Is Dad here?" Dean asks Sam. 

"No. I haven't seen him. Hopefully he'll be back later," Sam replies. 

They say bye to Sam and head to Dean's room. When they get there, Cas puts his books down on Dean's bed and looks around. 

"Welcome to Casa Winchester," Dean announces. 

Cas's eyes land on a guitar that Dean has sitting next to his desk. "Wow! Do you play that?" he asks.

Dean nods. "Not super great, but I'm okay at it."

"I've always wanted to learn, but my parents never liked anything other than classical instruments. I play the piano," Cas sighs. 

Dean goes over and takes the guitar out of the stand. He holds it out to Cas. "Here, I can show you."

Castiel smiles. "Really?" He takes the guitar from Dean and sits on the edge of Dean's bed. 

Dean sits on the left side of him. He takes Cas's hand and places it around the guitar. When he feels Dean's hand on his, Castiel looks up at Dean and give him a small smile, which Dean returns. 

"You hold it like this." Dean places Cas's fingers on the strings then reaches around him and places his right hand on the front of the guitar. 

"Try strumming it." 

Cas timidly lets his thumb move down the strings listening to the sounds each string makes. 

"Good. You can play a C like this," Dean says as he shows Cas the C chord, which Cas attempts to hold while strumming the guitar. 

They continue for a few more minutes with Dean showing Cas the various chords that lead up to "Carry On My Wayward Son" by Kansas. 

"See? You're a natural." 

Hearing Dean's compliment, Castiel pauses and looks up at Dean. "Thank you, Dean."

"No really! You’re picking this up really quickly."

Cas continues to look are Dean. "Dean, thank you. For everything. You didn't have to get involved in my mess."

Dean looks at Cas and smiles. "Yes, I did. I did it for you."


	5. Be Nice To Each Other!

The next day, Dean sees Alastair in the hallway before school alone. Dean is surprised that he isn't being followed by his ever present shadow, but he decides to take advantage of the moment.

He grabs Alastair and spins him around to face him. Alastair stares at Dean with wide eyes of shock from the unexpected change in position.

"You are a monster and so is your father," Dean screams at Alastair. "How dare you pick on Cas like you do and get away with it! You better leave him alone."

Alastair recovers from the momentary shock of being unexpectedly accosted. He shakes Dean's hand off of his arm and gives him a hateful look.

"Don't you dare touch me, you scum. I'm important around here. I can do whatever I want to whomever I want. So can my father. You can’t stop me." Alastair pokes Dean in the chest and pushes him backwards.

Dean is prepared for the move and it doesn't phase him. "If you touch him again, you'll have me to deal with, and I won't be here to just talk."

Alastair scoffs. "I'm pretty sure I can handle anything you throw my way, loser."

For a second Dean thinks about slugging Alastair, but stops himself. He doesn't want to give him or his father any more leverage than they already have. Instead, he just turns around with a final glare at Alastair and walks away.

\---------

Later that day at lunch, Alastair and his gang, including Crowley and Benny, come over to the table where Dean, Cas, and Charlie are eating.

Dean braces himself just in case he finds need to get up to protect Cas. But Alastair keeps a bit of distance between himself and Cas.

"So, lover boy. I hear you had to get your sister and your boyfriend to stand up for you!" Alastair says to Castiel.

"Go to hell, Alastair!" Castiel responds.

"Alastair, leave him alone," Dean and Charlie say almost simultaneously.

Alastair laughs. "See, even now you need your friends to stand up for you. Why don't you do it yourself? Too scared?"

Dean looks past Alastair and meets Benny's eyes who is just standing behind Alastair looking embarrassed. Benny gives Dean a slight ‘I'm sorry’ look. Dean raises his eyebrows expectantly and looks from Benny to Alastair back to Benny trying to encourage him to do something. Benny opens his mouth and slightly raises his right hand as if to say something to Alastair, but he stops and takes a step back. He looks down, guilty.

Dean sighs, disappointed, and stands up, cutting off Alastair's latest insult. "Alastair, the school may be afraid of your dad, but I'm not. Beat it before I send you home with a bloody nose."

Alastair looks at Dean defiantly. "You don't scare me, Winchester." Alastair turns and faces Crowley. "Come on. We have better things to do with our time than deal with these losers."

As they walk away, Benny flashes Dean a guilty look. Dean returns to his seat shaking his head.

"I can't stand that guy," Dean states emphatically.

"I hate it that he's taking Benny along with him. He used to be our friend!" Charlie adds.

"Thank you, guys, for looking out for me. Although I really wish I could stand up for myself. He is right about the fact that I need you and my sister to look out for me." Castiel sighs and looks down at his food. "Maybe I should learn some self-defense or karate or something."

Dean smiled. "Hey that's a great idea! Charlie and I can show you some stuff. Want to meet up after school?"

Charlie nods. "I'm in if you are."

Castiel smiles and nods.

\--------

That afternoon, Dean and Charlie are circling Castiel and both throwing light hits at him in an effort to teach him how to block them. Dean is surprised by how fast Castiel is picking up the moves.

"See, Cas. You’re a natural at this! You'll be scaring all the bullies away in no time."

Cas smiles while blocking Charlie's right jab. "Thanks."

Dean winks at Castiel as he throws the next fake punch.

"You two are obvious, you know."

Dean frowns. "What are you talking about?"

Charlie laughs. "Oh, come on. You don't think I haven't seen all the little winks and touches that you guys give each other, do you?"

  
Dean looks over to Castiel, who is blushing and trying really hard not to look at either of them in the eye while still blocking their fake punches.

Dean glares at Charlie. "He has enough to worry about without you teasing us, too."

"What? I'm not teasing. Just pointing out the obvious. Plus, it comes from the heart. You two would be adorable together."

"Let's just focus on the task at hand," Dean states. He can't help but notice the small smile that was gracing Cas's lips and returned it with one of his own.

"Fine," Charlie says. "What else do you want to learn, Cas? You've picked this up really well."

Cas shrugs. "I'm not sure. What’s a good way to stop someone from messing with you?"

Charlie thinks for a moment. "We could..."

Dean butts in before she has a chance to finish her thought. "I know! Let's show him how to knock someone down." He turns to Cas. "If someone is messing with you, just kick their legs out from under them. That will stop them."

"That's not the easiest move, Dean." Charlie looks at him questioningly.

"He's done well so far. Cas, does that sound interesting?"

Cas nods. "Yes. If you think I can do it, it sounds like a good thing to know."

Charlie shrugs. "Well, alright then. The key with this move is to try to get your opponent turned to one side so they are exposing the back of their legs to you. A quick kick to the back of the knee can make someone unstable. A lot of time, they’ll fall down, and if they don't, they will be so unstable that a push will usually do it."

"Here, let me show you," Dean says to Cas as he faces Charlie. Charlie turns a little to the side to give Dean the opening. Dean moves quickly and just taps the back of Charlie's knee with his foot and give her a light push. She falls to the ground.

"Dean did it lightly because he doesn't want to hurt me, but in the real situation, don't be afraid to use some muscle when you kick and push."

"I think I understand. Now let me try." Castiel moves in front of Dean, who turns to the side slightly. It takes him a couple tries, but he is soon able to get Dean on the ground.

"Perfect," says Charlie with a smile and a wink. "I knew you were good at knocking Dean off his feet."

Dean gives Charlie a glare and Cas just blushes.

\-------

Two days go by with only minor run-ins with Alastair and his group. Dean starts to think that maybe Alastair actually took his warning to heart (even if Alastair would never admit it).

Dean and Cas are walking to class together when they see Alastair and Crowley coming towards them in the hall.

Dean quickly whispers to Cas, "Don't change course, but don't make eye contact either."

They start to pass Alastair when he suddenly grabs Cas's backpack and pulls him across the hall. Cas stumbles but manages to keep his balance. Crowley and another boy jump in front of Dean to block him from getting to Alastair and Cas.

"Well, hello there, lover boy," Alastair says with an evil smile. "I've been meaning to catch up with you. How have you and your boyfriend been doing? Fuck him yet?"

"Leave us alone, Alastair!" Castiel screams at him.

Dean struggles against Crowley and his friend and even manages to get one good hit to Crowley's right eye, but they hold him fast to the wall.

"No. You know why? Because I don't want to."

"You're a jackass, Alastair."

Dean is actually impressed with Cas. The change in the boy compared to the first time they met is evident.

Alastair continues, "Well, aren't you feisty today?" Alastair pushes Castiel backwards, but Castiel continues to stay on his feet.

Alastair tries to repeat the action, but this time, Castiel blocks the movement and hits him in the upper arm. Alastair slightly flinches at the impact, which surprises Castiel. Then Alastair turns and swings at him full force with rage in his eyes.

Castiel is not expecting such a strong reaction and stumbles back as Alastair's fist connects with his cheekbone. He holds his face with one hand as he blocks Alastair's next move with his other one.

The block knocks Alastair to the side and Castiel sees his in. As Alastair turns to the right, Castiel kicks the back of Alastair's knees as hard as he can and Alastair falls to the ground.

Some people who have gathered to see the fight laugh at Alastair's fall. Someone screams, "Go Castiel!"

Alastair's face is mad with rage as he tries to get up. But Castiel just kicks him in the shoulder, causing him to fall back again. Cas even manages to avoid Alastair's grasp as he tries to grab Cas's leg during the kick.

The crowd continues to laugh and sneer at Alastair and cheer on Castiel. Alastair's friends look on in shock as their leader lies on the ground.

"See, Asshat! I can stand up for myself!" Castiel screams at him. "I can stand up to bullies like you. You know why? Because I have friends who support me and family who loves me. They give me strength. Just because you have a father who hates you doesn't give you the right to take it out on me!"

Alastair stares at Castiel in shock and stammers, "How? What?"

He looks around at everyone cheering, "Castiel! Castiel!" then he gets up a runs towards the exit.

As he passes, Crowley asks, "Al?"

Alastair just screams, "Leave me alone!"

Castiel looks after Alastair as he runs out the door, then he runs after him. Dean and the rest of the crowd are left to stare after them. Dean shakes out of Crowley and the other boy's grip and takes off after them.

When Dean gets out the door, he sees Castiel following Alastair towards the school stadium. Dean realizes that Crowley is behind him and turns around to face him. "Give him space. I'm going to go make sure Alastair doesn't kill Cas. I'll make sure Alastair is okay, too. You keep everyone back."

Crowley nods, and Dean takes off across the field. When he gets to the stadium, he see Alastair sitting on a bench and Castiel standing a little ways away from him. Neither of them notice Dean.

"Alastair?" Cas says timidly.

Alastair doesn't respond for a moment, then replies, "How did you know?"

Cas just stands there looking at Alastair. Alastair turns around to face Cas. His face isn't malicious.

Alastair continues, "Well? How did you know? About my dad?"

"I didn't. I just tried to think of the worst thing I could say. And the flinch made me think of that. I was protecting myself."

Alastair sighs. "Good guess."

"What makes you think that? I mean, about your dad?"

Alastair sighs and looks down defeatedly. "He always has. Nothing I do is ever good enough for him. I can't even chew without him telling me that I'm being too loud."

Castiel cautiously takes a seat on the bench next to Alastair. He moves slowly, like he is going to spook Alastair like a wild animal. "But surely he doesn't hate you. I mean, why would a father who hated his son donate so much money to the school and stand up for him like he did for you?"

"It's a status symbol. He is keeping up appearances. He's told me many times that I'm a disappointment." He puts his head in hands and make a noise that Dean recognizes as the noise one makes to stop themselves from punching a wall, or in Alastair's case, a bench. "Why the fuck am I telling you of all people this? You probably hate me just as much."

Castiel pauses and considers his words before continuing. "I don't hate you. You’ve been a real dick to me, but that doesn't mean I hate you. You are human and are in a rough situation. I know what that feels like, more than anyone."

Alastair looks up at Cas questioningly, as if to say, ‘Continue’.

Cas sighs heavily. "My mom died giving birth to me. My dad raised me and my brother and sister for a while, but then he disappeared. Just one day left and didn't come home. We thought he was dead until we got a postcard from him in the mail. I spent a long time blaming myself for him leaving. He had always blamed me for my mom's death."

"Did you ever hear from him again after the postcard?" Alastair asked.

"He sends us letters every now and then, just so we know he is still alive."

"I'm sorry."

Castiel doesn't reply. The two boys just sit there for a couple minutes. Alastair is the first to break the silence.

"I'm sorry for tormenting you."

Castiel looks at Alastair. "Why did you? I mean, why me?"

Alastair shrugged. "You were new and you were an easy target. You’re a bit on the odd side, you know. I get so angry all of the time, and it's easier to let it out on someone like you then have it blow up at my dad. I don't really think about how it affects other people."

Alastair puts his head in his hands again. "Fuck. I'm turning out just like him, aren't I?"

"Change."

Alastair looks up at Castiel with a confused and surprised expression. "What?"

Castiel continues, "You see now that your behavior is just like his, but you can change. You can stop being mean to people. You can stop taking your anger out like that. Find some other way that is both positive and reflective of the good in you."

Alastair considered the idea. "Like what would that be?"

"You could do something that you want to do. Rebel. Take up a good hobby that your dad doesn't approve of. Make art. Anything as long as you aren't hurting people anymore."

The side of Alastair's mouth turns upward in a small grin and he nods. "Yeah. You’re right. I'm sorry again. I know that we can't be friends after everything, but I hope you'll somehow forgive me."

Castiel smiles. "I forgive you."

Alastair's half grin turns into a full one. "Thanks, Cas. You're all right." Then he hold up his right hand for Castiel and with one handshake, the boys cement their understanding.

Alastair continues, "I don't think I'm ready to face the others quite yet, but I'm okay. You can head back if you want."

Castiel nods. "Okay. Thanks again for apologizing. If you ever need to talk..." He lets the sentence trail off as Alastair nods. Then he gets up and heads back towards the school.

As he rounds the other side of the gym building, he suddenly gets pulled sideways by Dean. Cas lets out a little "Ah!" in surprise, then he realizes that it's Dean.

"Dean? What are you doing here?"

Dean places his hands on Cas's shoulders and looks at him squarely. "You are amazing. You know that? I followed you out here to make sure Alastair didn't kill you, and I overheard your conversation."

Castiel blushes. "Oh. It was nothing. He's hurting." Then he looks at Dean more sternly. "You probably shouldn't have eavesdropped though."

Dean grimaces. "I know. I'm sorry. I wasn't gonna, but then I just got caught up in the conversation."

Castiel rolls his eyes. Dean continues, "I know. But anywho, you didn't have to forgive him like that. He was horrible to you."

"He's only human. And he's a teenager just like us."

Dean smiles at Cas and speaks before he has a chance to think about what he is saying. "I love you."

The shock look on Cas's face makes Dean realize what he had just said. He quickly removes his hands from Cas's shoulders and looks down embarrassed.

"You do?" Cas asks.

Slowly, Dean nods. "I am pretty sure I have since that first day in class."

"Me too."

Now it is Dean's turn to look up surprised. He smiles.

Castiel continues, "You’re great Dean, and you stood up for me when no one else would. I was just too embarrassed to say anything. And I didn't want to scare you off."

"So does that mean I can kiss you?"

Castiel nods and Dean leans in and does just that.

\----------

The next day at lunch, Dean, Cas and Charlie are sitting at their usual table when Benny approaches. Dean looks up at him, surprised.

"Hey guys," Benny says cautiously.

"What do you want?" Charlie demands.

Dean puts a hand on her shoulder to keep her from flying at Benny.

Benny looks down with guilt. "I just wanted to come over here and apologize for my behavior." He then looks directly at Cas. "I wanted so badly to fit in on the team that I abandoned my friends and was mean to you when I knew that I shouldn't be. I understand that you probably don't want me to sit here again, but I wanted you to know that I was sorry."

Castiel smiles at him. "I forgive you. And you can join us if you'd like."

Benny is shocked by Cas's statement and looks at Dean for a confirmation.

Dean shrugs. "I don't mind as long as Cas doesn't. Charlie?" He turns to look at Charlie, who is calming down.

Charlie considers her response for a moment. "Only if you swear not to hurt Cas or anyone again."

Benny smiles. "I promise. I shouldn't have done it to begin with and I learned my lesson, big time."

Dean motions towards an empty seat and Benny sits down. The conversation is a little awkward at first, but towards the end of lunch, they are back to talking like old friends.

At one point, Dean notices Alastair walk by and catch Cas's eye with a nod of acknowledgement. Cas nods back and then turns back to the conversation they were having.

\-------

The next Saturday, Castiel and Anna host a dinner party and invite Dean, Charlie, and Benny. Before dinner, they are sitting around the kitchen table drinking sparkling apple juice out of wine glasses, which is Charlie's contribution to the party.

Castiel stands up with his glass. "I want to make a toast."

Everyone around the table raises their glasses. "I want to say thank you to all of you for being my friend; that includes you, Benny. You guys have made this place feel like home for me. I had a rough start here, but in the end, the people in this room feel more like family to me than I have ever had."

The others echo him with a round of "Cheers!"

Cas looks at Dean. "I especially want to thank Dean, who stood up for me at school when no one else did." Then he looks at the rest of the faces and his eyes come to rest on Anna. "Dean and I would also like to tell you that we are now officially dating."

Anna smiles at her younger brother and nods in approval. Charlie lets out a "Whoop!"

Charlie smiles. "I knew it! You two are perfect for each other!"

Castiel continues, "May life here continue to be good and may each of you have a blessed future. Cheers."

There was another round of "cheers" as they each bumped glasses with everyone else. Castiel turns to Dean and they smile lovingly at each other, knowing that they would do just that.


	6. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here's a little bonus scene...
> 
> Trigger warning for talking about suicide.

Dean walks through the doors that he used to walk through every day ten years ago. He's back now because his husband got a job as a councilor at the same high school they used to attend. After his experience with bullying, Castiel wanted to help other kids overcome the challenges of high school.

Dean walks down the hall thinking about his own time as a student here.

As he approaches the hallway that houses the councilor's office, he stops as he hears Castiel's voice coming around the corner.

"If you ever need to talk again, don't hesitate to come see me. I know first hand how hard high school can be," Castiel says to a student.

"Thanks," the student replies. "Talking really helped. Sometimes I just don't see the point of all this." Dean notices that the student sounded depressed.

Castiel sighs. "Let me tell you a secret of life. Every hardship only makes us stronger. When I was being bullied in this very high school, I thought life wasn't worth living. I had gone to two schools and had trouble at both of them. I thought it was me."

"What happened?" the student asks.

"I made plans to kill myself, but was waiting for the right time. After a particularly bad day, I had had enough. I was going to go home and do it. But then someone stood up for me and even invited me to go LARPing. It was so nerdy, but I didn't care because it was the first time I felt wanted. If I hadn't gotten that invite, I would have gone home and slit my wrists. That day saved my life and ever since then, my life has been wonderful. I thank my lucky angels that I didn't give up. You will feel like that, too, one day."

"Wow," the student responds.

"So, it may be tough now, but life gets better. You just need to get through the tough parts."

Dean's eyes are tearing up by this point. In the whole ten years they have been together, Cas hasn't told him this story. The thought sickens him that if he hadn't decided to follow Cas that day, he wouldn't have gotten another chance. All the happiness they have experienced since then wouldn't have happened.

"Thank you, Mr. Winchester. I'm glad that you didn't do it," Castiel's student tells him. "See you later. I'll stop by if I need to."

"Take care of yourself, Alfie." Castiel says.

Deans hears the student walk away and he wipes tears from his eyes and rounds the corner. He walks quickly to Castiel and takes him into his arms.

"I love you," he cries through his tears.

Castiel is surprised by the sudden embrace. "Dean."

"Cas, ya never told me that!" Dean states through the tears.

"Yes. I never did. I'm sorry. It always seemed like a morbid topic. But thank you, Dean. Thank you for being my friend. I love you, too."

They stand there embracing each other for a couple minutes before finally breaking apart just long enough for Castiel to grab his bag. Then they walk hand in hand to Dean's car.


End file.
